Few expenditures irk taxpayers more than funding “bridges to nowhere,” so municipalities must approach spending on transportation assets with care. Municipalities need to offer clear, convincing arguments as to why such spending is needed and what the benefits are. A transportation asset management plan (TAMP) offers a municipality what they need to justify their expenditures.
Urban trees are showing more promise from a storm water perspective than ever before. Trees absorb water from soil and transpire it to the atmosphere, reducing the amount of rainwater that flows untreated into storm sewers and ultimately to local lakes and rivers.
Most people think of pavement preservation as items that are directly related to maintenance and repairs to the pavement surface such as crack sealing, base patching, or slurry and chip seals. But anything that is attached or adjacent to the pavement surface is a candidate for pavement preservation.
R/M's Steve Wurster was named an "Emerging Leader of Waukesha County" by the Waukesha County Business Alliance for 2018. This annual awards program honors young professionals who live or work in Waukesha County and who are creating and inspiring a better vision for the future.
Just about every project has some sort of challenge. There are physical challenges such as, wetlands, endangered resources, environmental corridors, storm water planning, setbacks, topography, proximity to services (or lack thereof), and access. Then, there are financial challenges like supply and demand, changes in the economy, and over-extension. What makes this private development a great case study is that all these challenges were experienced.
Spring has officially arrived, whether it feels like it or not, and Earth Day is just around the corner! The focus of Earth Day this year is to end plastic pollution. One significant source of plastic pollution is plastic film. Plastic films are used in almost every industry throughout the United States because they are easy to manufacture, lightweight, and inexpensive. Learn more about ways you can assist in ending the pollution of plastic.
The development review process must ensure that your community grows responsibly, safely, and sustainably. It is important to review plats, CSMs and construction plans, in comparison to your community’s zoning and land division ordinances. It’s also critical to get feedback from staff, elected officials, and the public. Ruekert & Mielke, Inc. (R/M) has helped communities create and organize their processes by developing checklists, flowcharts, and other procedures to funnel developments through the bureaucratic and political landscape.
While storm water ponds can be aesthetically pleasing and a community recreation feature, they are actually engineered devices with two main functions. First, they prevent flooding by capturing runoff and flow from local storm water pipes, swales, and drainage ditches. Second, they provide water quality treatment by settling out excess sediment and nutrients from storm water that flows to the pond.
As the City of Kenosha embarked on a comprehensive analysis of their storm water infrastructure from both flood control and water quality perspectives, the City was hit with back-to-back intense rainfall events in July of 2017 that resulted in significant local and regional flooding. The immediate public health and safety concerns tied to this flooding event doubled down the City’s efforts to simultaneously develop a long-term plan for the future, while also quickly addressing some of the most pressing concerns.
Water systems across all fifty states have tested positive for lead contamination that threatens the health of those who drink it, especially young children and pregnant women. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, there is no safe level of lead, particularly for children. While Wisconsin communities have done a good job of providing safe water, communities can use new legislation to further improve safety.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is now accepting grant applications for construction of storm water treatment practices through the Urban Nonpoint Source and Storm Water Grant Program. This is a valuable funding program that helps offset the cost of meeting MS4 Permit requirements and protecting local lakes, streams, and wetlands in Wisconsin.
MS4. TMDL. NPDES. These acronyms (and many more) can sometimes make complying with municipal storm water regulations seem like an exercise in alphabet soup more than anything else. A variety of recent advances in ways of thinking and technology can simplify regulatory compliance.
In addition to doing illicit discharge inspections during dry weather, monitoring storm sewer outfalls during snow melt and rain events can reveal pollutants that accumulate and mobilize only when storm water flows through the system.
The Village of Menomonee Falls is the perfect example of how long-range planning can increase your SCADA system's reliability. Over the past 25 years, their ongoing system maintenance and regularly scheduled hardware and software upgrades have resulted in no significant failures. Read more to learn how they did it.
Water utility alert! Due to the recent change to Wis. Stats. §66.0601(2m)(b), you can transfer the public fire protection (PFP) municipal charges to end-use retail customers without having to reduce your municipal levy limit.
Storm water controls are necessary to prevent flooding, protect property, and to protect local lakes and streams. Unfortunately, effective storm water controls are often very costly. Maintenance to ensure these features keep working means additional costs that are added on each year.
SCADA systems are an important tool in the day to day operations of water & wastewater utilities. Do you have a good strategy for ensuring that your SCADA system stays up to date and provides the optimum levels of reliability, security, and efficiency? Learn how regular analysis and planning can extend the life of your SCADA system hardware and software, and how periodic planned updates can be more economical than waiting to replace critical components when a failure occurs.
One common concern with green infrastructure practices is their functionality in cold weather. However, studies have shown that green infrastructure continues to be effective for water quality treatment and peak flow reduction in cold weather.
The City of Peshtigo has experienced recent sewer system overflow events that have been partly due to high wet weather flows. R/M assisted in performing a smoke testing program as part of the City’s sewer system evaluation survey (SSES).
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Ruekert & Mielke, Inc. co-founder John H. Mielke. John passed away peacefully on Monday, January 1, 2018, at the age of 99.
